Govt to ask police officer to explain remarks on killing of militants

The Jammu and Kashmir government is seeking an explanation from a police officer for his recent speech in which he reportedly termed the killing of Kashmiri militants “our collective failure”.

At an event to mark the ninth anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, SSP Shailendra Kumar Mishra, who is posted as Commandant, Second Battalion, Indian Reserve Police (IRP), had reportedly questioned the success of the operation the Indian Army has been conducting against militants in Kashmir.

“We have received a communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the state government will ask for his explanation,” state police chief S P Vaid told reporters in Jammu.

SSP Mishra had expressed regret over the killing of militants in the Valley, during the event in Mumbai earlier this month. “Please do not rejoice at the killing of militants. These killings are a symbol of our defeat, our collective failure,” he had said.

“In J&K, some of our youth have complaints with the system, our way of working. (But) they are our kids, they are our own people. They have become thugs, they have become anti-social. We get no pleasure in killing them.”

After a video of Mishra’s speech was shared widely on social media in the Valley, Mishra said: “Those were my personal views what I observed as an officer”.

More than 200 militants have been killed in the state this year, according to the police.